1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for detecting a pedestrian colliding with an automotive vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, it has been required to decrease damages to a pedestrian who collided with an automotive vehicle in addition to protecting passengers in the vehicle. It is most important to avoid a fatal damage to a pedestrian if a collision with a pedestrian occurred unfortunately. An example of a pedestrian-protecting system is disclosed in JP-A-2001-80545. In this system, when a vehicle collides with a pedestrian, a front hood of the vehicle is popped up to suppress a secondary impact. A pedestrian collided with a front portion of the vehicle is often tossed up on the front hood and collides with the popped-up front hood, thereby a secondary impact given to the pedestrian is alleviated because the impact is absorbed by deformation of the front hood.
In the system disclosed in JP-A-2001-80545, a collision with an object with the vehicle is detected based on changes in acceleration imposed on a front bumper. However, it is difficult to determine whether an object collided with the vehicle is a pedestrian or another object. For example, when the vehicle collides with a roadside marker or a post cone, the front hood may be unnecessarily popped up, and the vehicle may become unable to drive safely.